Flipping Solicitude

A few weeks ago I indexed some useful flips of perspective to better understand this mystifying world. "Selfish people feel overly generous, while the generous feel terribly selfish." That sort of thing.

But I forgot one. It's something I've mentioned here before, but I want to boil it down and tie it in to that index:


Helpful people never flamboyantly offer to be helpful. It would never cross their mind to do so.

So whenever someone emphatically tells you to feel free to ask questions, that's always a pose. An empty gesture. You'll be granted one, perhaps two, grudging replies, and they won’t be well-crafted.

Helpful people never declare solicitude. They’re just solicitous. So they craft the bejesus out of their answers.


I craft the bejesus out of my postings here, though no one's forcing me/paying me. I'm just trying to be helpful (and am not the least bit vested in seeming helpful).